Al Jefferson Scores High

Jerry Sloan says he’s not the grouchy, impatient guy people think he is.

It would be hard to tell by his demeanor. When he came out to the bench as the Jazz went through warmup drills, Saturday, there was a smattering of cheers by fans excited to see the Hall of Fame coach.

Sloan didn’t acknowledge the crowd, didn’t even smile.

Hey, the man was working.

But asked if he needs patience with his young players, Sloan said afterward: “I’ve always been patient; just my demeanor, people think I’m not patient. I’m just like a puppy dog.”

The old softy.

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How popular is Al Jefferson?

Pretty popular, according to my internal applause-o-meter.

At Saturday’s public scrimmage at ESA, the 2010-11 Jazz players were announced. A nice cheer went up for rookie Gordon Hayward. On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being deafening), I rated it a 4 (remember, the arena was less than half full). Same with Sundiata Gaines. Ronnie Price and Paul Millsap were about a 4.5.

Fans must have been in a welcoming mood, because Raja Bell rated about a 5.

Andrei Kirilenko went for an enthusiastic 6, while I figure Jefferson was a 6.5.

Deron Williams was the hands down winner, with an 8.

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A.K. WITH THE OLD STYLE

Count Andrei Kirilenko among those who like the Jazz’s new retro uniforms.

Asked about the uniforms on Saturday, he said the old mountain-themed uniforms they wore when he was a rookie “were so heavy.”